Eyeglass-reel.



A. F. RDBBINS.

EYEGLASS REEL. APPLICATION FILED JAN-14, 1915.

1,16?.,598, Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

ALBERT F. ROBBINS, or WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

EYEGLASS-REEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1913.

Application filed January 14, 1915. Serial lilo. 2,115.

To all whom it may concern Be 1t known that I, ALBERT F. Ronn ns, a

citizen of the United States, residing at altham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Eyeglass-Reels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved eyeglass reel, the object of the invention being to provide a reel comprising in its construction a flexible cord or chain to which the eyeglasses are attached, said reel being preferably constructed to be attached to the clothing of the user, the improvement .consisting particularly in the manner of locking the spool to which the flexible member carrying the eyeglass is wound.

In a device of the character set forth it is very desirable that the cord to which the eyeglass is attached should be quickly lengthened or shortened and firmly locked in whatever position it is adjusted to, so

that the cord shall not be accidentally wound up on the spool and the glasses thus pulled off of the nose of the wearer.

The invention, therefore, relates particularly to the locking mechanism whereby the spool may be locked against rotation in one direction and still said lock is so constructed and arranged that it will not lock the spool against rotationif the spool is allowed to rotate rapidly, but only when it is allowed to rotate slowly. i

Said invention, therefore, consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and par ticularly pointed out in the claims thereof. Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a transverse sectional elevation of my improved eyeglass reel. Fig. 2 is a side elevation viewed from the right of Fig. 1, with the cap removed from the casing proper.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken online 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation taken on line l-- of Fig. 1 illustrating the means whereby the spool may be locked against rotation in one direction. Fig. is a side elevation of the spool upon which the eyeglass cord is wound.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 is the casing, dis a cap for said. casing and upon said cap is mounted a pin 7 pivoted at 8 to said cap and adapted to engage a guard 9. The casing 5 has a post 10 concentric therewith and formcord 23.

the hub 12.

mg a support upon which is journaled a spool 11. The spool 11 consists of a hub 12 rotatably mounted upon the post 10, two annular flanges 13, 14; and a flange 15. The flange 15 bears against the bottom of the casing 5. The hub 12 bears against the cap 6. Said spool is loosely mounted on the post 10 so as to allow slight end play.

, The cap 6 is fastened to the casing 5 by a screw 16 which has screw-threaded engagement with the post 10 and binds the cap 6 to said post and to the rim 17 of the casing A locking pin 18 extends laterally across the spool 11 being fastened to the two flanges 13 and 14:, extending across the space between said flanges and projecting beyond the outer face of the flange 13 to constitute Space is located a locking ring 19 (Fig. 1)

which is pivoted upon a pin 20 fast to the cas ng 5. The ring 19 is made of thin flat .metal and has a cam-shaped inner edge 21,

said cam-shaped inner edge being formed to provide a tooth 22 which slightly rounded at its bottom edge. The tooth 22 forms a stop which engages the stop pin 18 and prevents the spool 11 from rotating in one direction.

. The spool 11 is rotated in one direction by a flexible member consisting of a chain or The inner end of this cord is fastened to the locking pin 18 between the flanges 13 and 11 and is wound upon the spool 11 between said flanges 13 and 14 by a spiral spring 2%. The free end of said flexible member 23 projects through a hole 30 in the rim 17 and has the eyeglass attached thereto. The inner end 25 of the spiral spring 2 1 projects into a slit 26 formed in The outer end of said spiral spring 2% terminates in a hook 27 which is engaged by one end of a thin strip of metal forming a ring. 28, the other end of said ring being bent outwardly to engage a recess 29 formed on the inner face of the rim 17 of the casing. The ring 28 thus forms a convenient means of locking the outer end of the spring 24 to the casing. It will be understood that when the hook 27 ofthe spiral spring 24 pulls upon one end of the ring 23 it will tend to expand said ring and the ring will hug the inside of the casing 17 by reason of its friction thereagainst, so that the pressure upon the end of said ring which projects into the recess 29 will be comparatively slight.

The general operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that it is desired to extend the flexible member 23 in order to place the glasses on the nose of the wearer, the free end of said flexible member 23 is pulled downwardly (see Fig. 3) and thus causes the spool 11 to rotate in the direction of the arrow Figs. 2, 3 and 4. As the spool rotates it will wind up the spring 24: and the locking pin 18 will pass over the tooth 22 and around the cam-shaped edge 21 of the ring 19. The flexible member is thus unwound from the spool while the spring is being wound up. When suflicient cord has been withdrawn from the casing to give the desired length of cord for the wearer of the eyeglasses, said wearer allows the flexible member 23 to be wound up slowly on the spool 11 until the pin 18 engages the tooth 22 when it will become interlocked with the locking ring 19 and with the casing 5.

When the wearer desires to have the flexible member 23 coiled up inside the casing so that said casing will contain practically the whole length of the flexible member 23 he allows the spring to rotate the spool 11 rapidly in a direction opposite to that of the arrow Figs. 2, 3 and 4c and by thus operating the device the stop pin 18, when it engagesthe tooth 22, will move the ring 19 upwardly to a sufficient extent so that said stop pin will pass by the tooth 22. As hereinbefore stated the tooth 22 is slightly rounded at its upper and lower edges for the purpose of allowing said stop pin to pass by the tooth 22 when said stop pin is allowed to move rapidly.

The device hereinbefore described when in use is ordinarily in a substantially vertical position-that is, the cap 6 would lie substantially in a vertical plane, but even if said cap were placed in a horizontal plane the device of my invention will be operative to lock the spool against rotation when manipulated as hereinbefore described, for the reason that there is a friction between the flange 13 and the adjacent face of the ring 19 and this friction acts to move the tooth 22 toward the center of the casing when the spool rotates in an opposite direction to the arrow (Fig. 4:), for the reason that the friction on the ring 19 to the left of the center of the casing has a greater leverage than the friction of said spool against the portion of the ring lying to the right of the center of the casing and, therefore, as the spool rotates the right hand side of the spool as viewed in Fig. 4: will tend to move the ring 19 upwardly and to move the tooth 22 out of engagement with the stop pin 18, but the friction of the spool on the left hand side of the ring would tend to move said ring downwardly and to bring the tooth 22 into contact with the stop pin 18 and the friction on the portion of the ring farthest removed from the pivot 20 being greater in its power to move said ring than the friction on that part of the ring nearest the pivot 1 7 Having thus described my invention,

what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

1. An eyeglass reel having, in combination, a casing, a spring actuated spool rotatably mounted within said casing, a stop pin on said spool projecting laterally from one face thereof and a locking ring pivoted to said casing, the inner edge of said ring having a tooth thereon constructed and arranged to engage said stop pin whereby said spool may be locked against rotation in one direction.

2. An eyeglass reel having, in combination, a casing, a spring actuated spool rotatably mounted within said casing, a stop pin on said spool projecting laterally from one face thereof, and a lockingring pivoted to said casing, said locking ring having a cam-shaped inner edge constructed and arranged to engage said stop pin whereby said spool may be locked against rotation in one direction.

3. An eyeglass reel having, in combination, a casing, a spring actuated spool rotatably mounted within said casing, said spool having two annular flanges thereon, a stop'pin on said spool extending laterally thereof from one of said flanges to the other and projecting beyond the outer face of one of said flanges to constitute a stop pin, a flexible member fast to said spool and projecting through said casing and a locking ring pivoted to said casing, said locking ring having a cam-shaped inner edge constructed and arranged to engage said stop pin whereby said spool may be locked against rotation in one direction.

4:. An eyeglass reel having, in combination, a casing, a spool rotatably mounted within said casing, a spiral spring, the inner end thereof being fast to said spool and the outer end terminating in a hook, and means to lock the outer end of said spring to said casing comprising a metal ring located within said casing, one end thereof engaging said hook, the opposite end thereof projecting into a recess provided in the inner face of said casing and projecting partly therethrough and means to lock said spool against rotation in one direction.

5. An eyeglass reel having, in combination, a casing, a spring actuated spool rotatably mounted within said casing, a stop pin on said spool projecting laterally from one face thereof and a locking ring pivoted to said casing, the inner edge of said ring hav ing a tooth thereon formed and arranged to engage said stop pin and lock the same In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- 10 nesses.

against rotation in one direction when said spool is rotating slowly, said tooth being ALBERT ROBBINS formed and arranged to allow said stop pin Witnesses:

to pass the same in either direction when CHARLES S. GooDING, said spool is rapidly rotating.

SYDNEY E. TAFT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

